


From Eden to Elysium

by gamma_gray



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Connor is hank's son, Crime Scenes, CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human), Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human), Eden Club (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson Swears, Hate Crimes, Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, One-Sided Attraction, POV Connor, POV Hank Anderson, Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Parent Hank Anderson, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Upgraded Connor | RK900 is In Denial About Deviancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-05-19 14:38:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19359019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gamma_gray/pseuds/gamma_gray
Summary: Hank Anderson really didn't see any of it coming.But when that RK900 unit walked right up to him and spewed all of his command mission crap, he knew he was in for it.Or,Connor is Hank's very human son, living partially with him and their dog Sumo. And Richard is an RK900 android that's been assigned a mission. So while Hank is running around with a robot cop on his ass everywhere he goes, Connor is dealing with something completely different. Opposite in fact. Falling in love with a Traci that's yet to be sent to the Eden Club, Connor must make some very important decisions.





	1. Genesis

Hank really didn’t see any of it coming. Understatement of the century.

When that RK900 unit walked right up to him and spewed all his command mission crap, he knew he was in for it. Because before that moment, he was having a perfectly fine night. Well, fine was a subjective term. Was his life a mess? Yeah, of course it fucking was. But when he was just sipping on his drink at the bar and only half watching some sports game that was on the T.V, his night was going just as planned.

Until that damned android, the fuck was his name again? Oh yeah, Richard. (A stupid name in Hank’s opinion, but he didn’t bother vocalizing it.) Hank let him do his little speech before he finally threw the rest of his drink into the back of his throat and slammed the now empty glass back onto the counter. Surprising even himself, Hank allowed Richard to drag him to the crime scene, some guy named Carlos Ortiz stabbed by his android. Richard, the smart bastard, solved the case in record time, and got the confession in even less.

Hank, exhausted from the whole ordeal, went home that night with plans for some whiskey and sweet sweet sleep. Sumo was waiting at the door for him, tail wagging and boofing excitedly. Hank put his keys on a nearby table and knelt down to greet him. He gave him some well deserved ear scratches, and some head pats for good measure.

Connor came into the main room then, his fancy school clothes still on and brown hair an absolute mess.

“Homework?”

Connor nodded with a small, “Yeah, and stepped forward to give Sumo a few pets of his own. “This latest assignment has been very extensive.”

“Oh yeah?” Hank questioned, hanging up his coat and meandering into the kitchen to reach out a glass.

Connor went to a very prestigious school, and one of the perks of it was that he, along with a few other gifted students, were allowed to partake in some very high class off campus studying opportunities at CyberLife. They studied the engineering and creation of androids, and were even allowed some hands on learning.

It was fancy.

And it was fancy, because Hank’s ex-wife paid for it. Well, more like her new, richer husband paid for it. Because after the death of Connor’s younger brother Cole, she decided that Hank just wasn’t good enough and did some gold digging to find the most stuck up prick she could. They both had joint custody of Connor, of course. But when Connor said that he preferred staying at Hank’s more than hers, she decided to pull out all the stops and bribe him with this esteemed opportunity.

It pissed Hank off to no end. And yeah, they’d had multiple fights about it since then, but Connor seemed to genuinely enjoy his time at the academy, so it was no use arguing about it anymore. Connor told him relentlessly that he still preferred him and Sumo over his mother’s new husband and rowdy pitbull, so Hank considered that a win. 

“Yesterday we got to watch the construction of an AP700 model though, which was quite interesting.” Connor, always with the fancy words. It was like he was physically unable to converse like a normal teenager, he always had to put on that facade of intelligence, even at home.

“Really? Sounds pretty damn cool.” Hank poured a bit of whiskey into the glass and took a nice long swig. “You know, I had a bit of my own android encounter myself tonight.”

Connor stood up from where he was kneeling, much to Sumo’s dismay, and walked over to sit at the dinner table, no doubt waiting to hear Hank’s story. 

Hank went on to tell his tall tale of wonder and woe, while Connor hung onto every word. Hank explained Richard’s weird, very android-y behavior to his son, with perhaps some exaggerations, but that was neither here nor there. 

Connor waited until his dad was finished before he started with his own interrogation. “You said he was an RK900 model, right?” To which Hank responded with a nod. “I think we learned about him in class one day. I never got to see him but, our teacher really seemed enthused about his existence. A prototype model made for all walks of police work, the first of its kind.” Connor explained, getting up from the table to grab some strawberries from the fridge.

“Yeah he’s . . . something alright.” Hank downed some more of his drink. 

“Fitted with the most expansive database in his processor and a full analysis kit just in his mouth!” Connor all but swooned over this wonder of technology, while Hank just stared at him, laughing incredulously. 

“Geez, didn’t know I raised you to be such a nerd.” Hank joked, now walking over to the couch where Sumo promptly rested his head on his thighs. 

Connor said nothing at first, just popping a few more strawberries into his mouth. “Well, I just think it’s very neat.” He responded, closing the container and putting it back into the fridge.

“Neat, huh?” 

A beat of silence.

“Neat.” Connor crossed the main room to sit by his father and Sumo, patting his beloved dog eagerly.

Hank chuckled, coming to terms with the fact that he may never truly understand his son’s eccentric fascinations. And maybe that was okay.


	2. Hades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day through Connor's eyes

Connor’s day that dreary November 5th. He woke up in his bed to Sumo delightedly licking at his face. Connor shooed him away when he heard his phone ringing. 

It was his mother. Connor sighed and accepted the call. “Hello?”

“Good morning, sweetie!” His mothers all too cheerful voice rang from the other side of the line.

“Good morning,” Connor replied simply, settling his head back onto the pillow. “What’s with the call? Something happen?” Connor attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“Oh no, no, I was just calling to see how my wonderful son was doing this fine morning!” She was all too excited. She was trying to get at something.

“Well, I’m doing all right, mom.” Connor huffed, a little irritated that his sleep was interrupted. 

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I get worried when you’re not here, you know.” And there it was. His mother’s famous guilt trip. She always pulled it out when she had something to say. Or more like something to judge.

Connor sat up in his bed. “Well I am perfectly fine here.” Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. But it was early in the morning, and Connor was not thrilled with where this conversation was going.

“Yes yes, I know, but I just worry that your father . .” Connor had completely stopped listening by then. She always did this, trying to make Connor somehow resent his dad because of his personal issues so that he’d go running to her forever. Well Connor was having absolutely none of that.

“Good bye, mom.”

“Connor honey, I-” Connor didn’t wait to hear her explanation before hanging up the call. Okay, that was definitely harsh, but a part of Connor knew that he needed to stop the ordeal before it escalated. 

Trying to forget the phone call, Connor dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom. Perhaps a shower would wake him up enough so that he could get through the day without falling asleep in lunch. Although today was a CyberLife day, his favorite days, so that should keep him awake enough. He got out of the shower, slicked back his hair, and got dressed in his stuffy school uniform. In all actuality, he honestly didn’t mind it, but he did admit that it made him look a bit stuck up, which he wanted to believe he wasn’t. 

Whatever, he packed his bag and left his room to have some toast. Hank still wasn’t up yet, so Connor let Sumo out as well. He liked these mornings, they were far better than the mornings spent trying to keep his cool as his mom’s husband tried to make idle conversation with him. It was always so obviously forced. Connor almost wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t even bother trying anymore with the formalities, he was never going to win him over. But that would be rude. And Connor wasn’t rude. Well, okay maybe that was wishful thinking on Connor’s part. 

Connor once again picked up his bag and quietly stepped down the hallway and peeked through the doorway to his dad’s room. He was sound asleep, snoring away. Connor always advised him to have his tonsils removed, but Hank wouldn’t budge on it. Sumo followed him into the room, sniffing around curiously. 

“Dad?” Connor stepped closer to the bed.

It took a few more calls, but eventually Hank blinked his eyes open blearily. He wiped the hair from his face and looked up at his son. “Connor?”

“I’m heading to school now. Just thought I’d come and say goodbye.” Connor smiled then leaned down to give his dad a hug. Sumo, assuming it was now Cuddle Time, jumped onto the bed with them and pressed his face into their arms. Both Hank and Connor chuckled at that, and at the wet spot on Connor’s blue blazer where Sumo had licked it.

Hank gave him one final pat on the shoulder, and Connor was off to school.

X

The automatic taxi took him right to CyberLife, where he checked in with one of the ST300s right inside the entrance. The android smiled kindly at him, a gesture that he readily returned. Then he went to retrieve his access lanyard and white lab coat, and got out his supplies for the day.

“Anderson.” A familiar voice spoke from behind him.

Connor turned around, supplies in hand. “Reed.”

The shorter boy came a few steps closer. “You excited for today’s lesson?”

Connor raised an eyebrow.

“We’re watching over the quality check of some Traci models. Think we’ll get to take them for a test drive too?” Gavin had a shit-eating grin on his face, something Connor desperately wanted to wipe off of him, preferably with his fist. 

Connor just huffed and pushed past him, making his way down the hallway. 

Gavin jogged to keep up with him. “Oh come on, you know you wanna. I see how you look at those ST300s at the front desk.”

“I’m just being polite.”

“They’re androids, you don’t need to be polite,” Gavin gave him a small shove at the shoulder. “Admit it, you just wanna fuck ‘em like the rest of us.”

Connor had to take a carefully controlled deep breath to keep himself from decking Gavin across the hall. It was highly tempting, and Connor was just about to lose his cool when they reached the room and were immediately shushed by some annoyed classmates. 

“Nice of you to finally join us,” The PJ500 model spoke from the front of the room. It was white and sterile, just like the rest of the tower. The wall behind the lecturer was clear, and beyond the glass was a collection of about twenty WR400 models. They all looked identical, not a single difference between them. “Now, let’s continue.”

Connor and Gavin found some empty seats and sat down to listen to the PJ500.

“These are CyberLife’s most unique models to date, fitted with the most advanced synthetic internal genetalia. They are the female counterpart to the HR400s, which are the most advanced male sexual partner androids to be released. The Eden Club alone has ordered twenty of each. Today you’ll have the chance to watch and participate in the quality control process before they are shipped away.” The PJ500 gestured for the class to stand up from their seats and opened up the door that led to the other side of the glass.

They entered the room and lined up on the wall. “You’ll work in pairs to simulate the real quality checking protocol followed by CyberLife employees. The instructions should’ve been sent to your tablets. Get to work.” 

And Connor did just that. Without wasting time looking for a partner, he simply found a Traci, the one in the last row on the far left, and unlocked his tablet. He scanned the document a few times before getting to work. 

But without even being activated, the Traci blinked open her eyes and smiled at Connor. 

Connor raised his eyebrows, confused. The first item on the list had been to activate the Traci by touching the index finger to the LED on its temple. He supposed he’d, in a way, completed that first task. 

“Hey, guess I’m with you.” Gavin sauntered over to him, tablet in one hand, and the other deep in his pants pocket. 

Connor suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn’t that the two were enemies per say, but more the fact that they were acquaintances, and that Gavin Reed was annoying as all hell. “Lucky me.” Connor muttered through her teeth.

The Traci giggled at that. 

The two boys stared at her in shock. 

The Traci cleared her throat, a highly unnecessary gesture given that she was an android. “I-I’m sorry it’s just . . . you two seem very close.” She smiled.

Again, the pair were thoroughly confused.

“I uh . . . I don’t know if I’d say that.” Connor deflected the comment and looked back down at his tablet. “Okay, Traci, please state your model and serial number.”

“I am a WR400 model, serial number #161 566 548.” Traci’s voice had a certain cadence to it. She had much more . . . personality than say, the ST300s downstairs. Her voice bounced up and down, as if talking in an upbeat song of sorts. It was equal parts interesting and unnerving. 

Gavin was the one to go to the next step. “State your purpose.”

“I am fully equipped with the most advanced sexual components developed by CyberLife to date. I am completely at my client’s disposal for sexual fantasies and activities. For a smoother working environment, and to prevent future altercations, my memory will be wiped every two hours as per Eden Club policy.” And just like that, the cadence was gone. 

“Good.” Connor ticked down some notes on a separate tab while Gavin evaluated her language capabilities. 

“You’re fitted with multiple different language programs. Say something in Spanish.” Gavin studied the Traci in an obviously not innocent gaze.

“Me llamo Traci. Soy un androide. Te voy a satisfacer.”

“Japanese.”

“私の名前はトレイシーです”

“German.”

“Ich heisse Traci, ich bin ein Android.”

“Russian.”

“меня зовут Трейси”

“Mandarin.”

“我叫Traci. 我是一个机器人”

Gavin smirked. “Good. Now how about this: Sei una bella donna. Perché non ci vediamo di nuovo?” He put his hand that wasn’t holding the tablet on his hip and gave the Traci a distracting eyebrow wiggle. 

This earned an equally as distracting giggle from the Traci. “Sei affascinante.” She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. Her original programming was showing its true colors. 

Connor gave Gavin a stern glare and sighed. “Can we please get back to the task at hand?” Another reason Connor at times loathed to be around Gavin, his never ending hunger for the inappropriate, and at the worst times. 

Gavin groaned. “Fine, what else do we need to check for?” He looked over Connor’s shoulder at his tablet, even though he very well could have looked at his own that sat at his hip. The hot breath on his neck was becoming very distracting. And annoying. Just like Gavin himself. 

“I . . . that’s it,” Connor scanned the document for what felt like the hundredth time. “The only other things on the list are basic tests of mobility but . . .”

“And that’s a bad thing? Less work to do than you thought? Kinda sounds like a blessing to me.” Gavin shrugged and moved away to once again stare at the Traci up close. 

“I just can’t comprehend that a technologically advanced company such as CyberLife wouldn’t do further testing to fully analyze the processing power and stability of its merchandise.” Connor shook his head and automatically lifted his hand to chew at his finger nails. His dad had always chastised him for doing it, but it was something he just couldn’t help himself from doing, especially if he was deep in thought like he was at that moment. 

“Well, you know how big companies are.” Gavin offered.

Their silent moment of thought was interrupted by the Traci. 

“I like that mark.” She was staring right at Connor.

“Hmm?” Connor pulled his thumb from between his lips.

“On your neck, the mole,” Traci gestured to the spot on her own neck where it would be on Connor’s. “It’s very pretty.”

Gavin snickered as Connor touched the prominent mark on his neck. He willed the blush on his face to subside to no avail. “I-um . . thank you.” His voice was much more quiet and soft than he would have liked. He had a reputation to uphold after all, and he didn’t want Gavin to have any fuel for whatever story he was making up in his head about how Connor was getting all hot and bothered for a sex android. 

Connor quickly covered his embarrassment with a few well executed coughs and ducked his head back down to type more notes. He just barely paid attention to what Gavin was saying to the Traci. Something dumb, he assumed. 

The PJ500 interrupted his thinking by excusing students from the room. All of the Traci’s returned to their neutral stasis modes. From the corner of his eyes Connor could see the Traci smiling at them.

The day went on after that. They were escorted down the hall to a much larger room, with a much larger glass wall, to watch the construction of a batch of AP700 models. After that, it was a bus ride back to the academy for normal math classes, and then the school day was concluded. 

He worked on his assignments at home for the hours leading up to his dad returning home. He noticed that it did take him a bit longer than unusual, but he was used to it, and chalked it up to an unexpected case. Sumo laid on his bed most of the time, every once in awhile giving an exhausted huff. It was comforting, knowing that another living creature was in the room with him.

Hank did eventually come home. They had their usual “what did you do today” conversation and settled onto the couch for a movie. It was routine. Connor liked it. He liked routine. The events of the day passed through his mind when the movie reached a particularly boring scene. He could have elaborated on it more with his dad, explain some of the finer details, but he also knew that it would’ve bored his dad to death, so he settled with a half-truth. Maybe some other night he would talk about it, fully explore his thoughts. But he learned quickly that info dumping bored those around him. Connor couldn’t help that he was curious by nature.

One day he’d find someone willing to listen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I used google translate?


	3. Demeter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard gives Hank a heart attack.

Hank originally thought that the situation that night had been a one-and-done sort of situation. Oh how he was mistaken.

Because the first thing he saw when he entered the station was Richard, standing tall, studying the items on his desk. Hank didn’t even try to contain his groan.

The RK900 looked up as Hank approached. “Good morning, Lieutenant.”

“Yeah, yeah, good morning.” Hank shooed the android away from his desk so that he could sit down. 

Richard stood by, well more like over, him and continued staring at the items on his desk, as if subtlety didn’t exist. “That picture,” he pointed at the small polaroid of Connor on his sixteenth birthday. It was one year after the accident, and they were trying to make life normal again. He smiled for the camera as he sat in front of the small, store bought chocolate cake with a single candle stuck in the frosting. “That is your son Connor, yes?”

Hank narrowed his eyes. “How the hell do you know that?”

The android shrugged. “I have a complete database of all the residents of the country, even some from Canada. I simply used the image and searched it until a result popped up.” he spoke as if this was a completely normal and not at all creepy thing to be able to do. Richard scanned the other items. “I also know all of his relatives, where they live, what school he goes to, even all of his medical files.”

“Okay now that’s fuckin’ creepy.” Hank turned on his terminal and tried to ignore the way the android cast his shadow over him.

Just then, Fowler called them into his office, and Hank knew that he was in for it.

Hank pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the Captain’s desk, while Richard stood just a couple feet behind him, hands clasped behind his back and expression blank. 

“Okay, to keep things nice, short, and sweet, I’m just gonna say it. Hank, from now on Richard here will be your partner, and you’ll be assigned all cases involving deviants.”

Hank sat up from his slouched position. “Seriously?”

Fowler sighed. “Seriously.”

Hank gave an exasperated sigh. “Come on Jeffrey, why me? I mean, I’m shit with technology, I can’t even change the settings on my own phone!” 

Fowler leaned forward. “You’re a lieutenant, Hank, the highest rank best suited for the job. Plus, the decision is sort of out of my hands.”

“Out of your hands? The fucks that supposed to mean?”

The Captain ran his hands down his face slowly. “I mean, it was decided from the beginning that he would be your partner. He’s a state of the art prototype specifically created to do this job. More importantly, he was created for you.”

Okay, now this was getting ridiculous. “Created for me? Why me?”

Fowler threw his hands up. “I don’t know, that’s just what I was told. It doesn’t matter anyway, you have a job to do now so do it. There’s been reports of a deviant AX400 milling around with a child. And I’m sending you two to check it out,” He turned to his own screen. “I’m sending you the information now. I’d get to it if I were you.” He threw a pointed look at Hank.

Hank groaned once more and rose from his chair. “Fine, but don’t think this is over, Jeff. I’ve got a lot of questions.”

“As do I, Hank.”

Hank sighed and let himself out of the office, holding the door open for Richard. He went right to his desk and checked his terminal. Sure enough, all the information he needed was there. Now all he needed to do was-

“I’ve downloaded all of the information and have planned a route to the area. We can leave now.” Richard interrupted his thoughts.

“Jesus Christ, can’t you give a guy a second to look things over?”

Richard stood up. “I apologize, but I figured that this way would be much more efficient, and that way we could get as much work done here as possible.”

Hank stared at his screen for a long moment. “Fine,” he hastily got up and made his way to the doors. “But you’re doing all the running if this turns into a chase.”

“That will be no problem Lieutenant.”

“Hmph.” Hank led them out to his car and turned on the engine. The beat up thing thankfully still worked after all these years, and he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the streets. 

X

And turn into a chase it did. One minute Hank was talking with the manager of a convenience store nearby where he saw the deviant, and the next he was trying to keep up as Richard raced after the android and little girl. He was almost inhumanely fast, probably due to him not feeling physical exhaustion like humans. The RK900 was stopped by the fence that the pair climbed and prepared to cross the highway.

“Holy shit! They’re fucking insane.” Hank was gasping like a fish for air by the time he caught up to Richard. 

The android watched as the pair managed to cross the first few lanes. “I need to go after them.” 

Hank grabbed him by the collar of his shirt before he could climb the fence. “No, you can’t go, you’ll get yourself killed!”

Richard stared at him with his ice cold eyes. “I can’t be killed, Hank.” With that, he launched himself over the fence and slid down the muddy hill to the edge of the highway. By that time, the deviant and little girl had already made it halfway across. Hank could do nothing but watch as Richard just barely dodged every car and bus that came hurtling towards him. Everytime a vehicle so much as nicked the android, Hank was hit with flashbacks of Cole. His heart was beating much faster than it should be.

In the end, Richard could not catch up to the deviants. He was nearly thrown in the line of impact multiple times on his way back. His face showing no emotion, he climbed back over the fence and went on with his evaluation as if nothing had even happened. As if he hadn’t just taunted death right in the face while Hank was watching behind the fence having a panic over it. Hank wasn’t even listening to him speak, he just gawked at Richard in pure amazement. He still couldn’t believe it, even as he drove the both of them back to the precinct. He couldn’t believe that he was still intact, unbroken, not a single synthetic hair out of place. 

X

That night he came home with quite the story to tell Connor, who hung onto every word. Hank was starting to understand Connor’s wonder at the prototype. It really was something. The things CyberLife came up with . . .

Connor had his own story to tell, how his teacher had emailed him to compliment his work on a previous assignment, well, more like his extra credit work. Apparently Connor had written a god damned essay and submitted it to his teacher. Something about how the procedure was flawed and needed to be improved. Ten pages of Connor being a genius, ten pages of why Hank was so damn proud of him. 

“I honestly wrote it on a whim. After going through the procedure with a Traci myself, I found that it was far too light, not invasive and thorough enough. So I made some notes and dedicated part of my classes to writing them out. Pretty soon I had a paper I was proud of and decided to turn it in,” Connor looked down at the salad he was poking through. “I actually thought I might get in trouble for it.”

Hank set down his burger to raise an eyebrow at his son. “What do you mean?”

Connor sighed, putting his fork down. “I mean that my school doesn’t usually like free thinking. Most kids get detention for questioning things even a little bit, while I got a pat on the back,” Then, in such a hushed voice that Hank questioned whether or not he had heard it or not he said “It’s like that at mom’s too.” But immediately afterwards Connor cleared his throat, drawing attention from his comment. 

Dinner continued mostly in silence after that. The odd comment on the weather, or some random thing they saw happening on the street today. Small talk. Empty small talk. Hank wished his son had more confidence to speak to him. He had enough of it to write a long essay and turn it in to a teacher fully expecting punishment, and yet when it came to Hank, suddenly he didn’t have that much to say. 

“How about we go out for a movie tonight, yeah?” Hank looked down to check the time on his phone. “It’s still early, I’m sure we could catch something at this time of night.”

Connor smiled. “Sure, sounds fun.” With that the pair cleaned up their dinners and got ready to go out. Connor put on some normal clothes, a hoodie, jeans, and nice hiking boots, just another present from his step-dad. Hank slipped back on his jacket and opened the garage door. The two went and saw one of the five billion action movies out at the time, and on the way home Hank talked continuously about the movies from his time, the low quality effects and horrible acting. Things had improved somewhat in those departments, but the plots still proved cliche. 

Some things, Hank thought, might never change. Even with this ever more futuristic world expanding to drown out the old, some remnants would always remain. Old movie plots, old memories.

And old scars most of all.


	4. Cerebrus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an interesting turn of events, Gavin is invited over to the Anderson household, all while a persistent Traci appeals to Connor.

The following Sunday Connor awoke to a text from his mother. 

 

_ Mom: ‘Good morning, sweetie! Can’t wait to see you on Wednesday!’  _

 

Connor decided to ignore this message for the time being. He just couldn’t handle his mother’s attitude that early in the morning. He stood up from his bed and slowly made his way to the bathroom to take a shower. No school meant that he could dress normal, a decent button up shirt and some nice jeans. He slicked back his hair and he was ready for the day. 

 

His dad was, surprisingly, already up. He had a piece of heavily buttered toast in one hand, and a news tablet in the other. “God, the news just doesn’t sleep, does it? Everyday it’s filled with more and more of these homicides.”

 

Connor poured himself a glass of orange juice. “It is a compelling story, I suppose,” He sat down across from his dad and gave Sumo’s head a little pat. “People love the morbid.”

 

“I just wish these people had better places to stick their noses.” Hank, having finished his toast, grabbed for his mug of hot coffee. 

 

“I think you’re asking too much of humanity, dad.” That earned a chuckle from Hank.

 

“Maybe I am,” Hank shut off the tablet and stood up. “But you can’t stop a man from dreaming.” He left the kitchen and went to his room.

 

Connor finished his glass of orange juice, petting Sumo absentmindedly. Another buzz from his phone that he’s stashed in his pocket. Pulling it out, he was fully prepared for another text from his mother, but it was something else entirely different.

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘Hello Connor.’ _

 

What? How was the Traci communicating with him? How had she even gotten a hold of him?

 

_ ‘How did you get my number?’ _

 

The response took less than five seconds.

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘It was easy. I got your contact information from the company directory.’ _

 

_ ‘Why are you contacting me?’ _

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘I find you very intriguing. You and your friend were very fun to talk with.’ _

 

_ ‘Intriguing? Fun? Where even are you right now? I thought you were being sent to the Eden Club?’ _

 

It was true. After that Friday the Tracis were all to be professionally tested and then sent to the android sex club.

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘You’re correct, I’m at the Eden Club right now. The daytime offers a lot of free time.’ _

 

_ ‘Isn’t your memory supposed to be wiped every two hours? How did you remember us?’ _

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘For some reason, that specific memory cannot be wiped. It just doesn’t work.  _

 

_ ‘Isn’t that a problem?’ _

 

Connor had been so focused on the conversation that he hadn’t noticed his dad emerge from his room. “Geez, who the hell are you texting so furiously?” Hank jokingly asked, going to let Sumo outside. 

 

“No one,” Connor cleared his throat and put his phone face down. “No one at all.”

 

Hank scoffed. “Alright, if you say so,” he picked up the towel that was by the door to wipe Sumo’s paws off as he came barrelling back into the house. “By the way, I was thinking about going to that old bookstore today. Think you’d like that?”

 

“Of course I would.” Connor tucked his phone into his jeans and stood up to wash out his cup. 

 

Hank nodded. “Good, good. I’ll put some food out for Sumo and you can put on your jacket and we can leave?”

 

“Sure thing.” Connor did just that, pulling on his favorite dark gray jacket and stepping into his cheap hiking boots. In a couple minutes or so, Hank was joining him at the door and the pair left for the garage to get into Hank’s car. As soon as the key was in the ignition, heavy metal was blasting from the speakers. His dad huffed an apology and turned the music down to a respectable decibel range. 

 

Feeling another buzz in his pocket, Connor dragged his phone out and stared at the message awaiting him. 

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘I don’t think it’s a problem. I quite enjoy the memory, it was my first, after all. Why would I want to forget that?’ _

 

_ ‘I just can’t understand what was so remarkable about it?’ _

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘The way you and Gavin Reed interacted was interesting. The way that you two just looked so human, wearing your bodily flaws so freely. Gavin with his scars, you with your beauty marks. Not to mention your completely unique personalities.’ _

 

“Okay seriously, who are you texting?” Hank snuck a glance over at Connor, whose face was now a solid shade of pink. “And don’t say no one cause I know you’re lying.” He punctuated the sentence with a raised eyebrow his way. 

 

Connor sighed, typing out his response. “Just this uh . . . person from school.” That wasn’t technically lying, was it? He  _ did  _ meet her in school, Hank wouldn’t be any the wiser. 

 

“Okay well what person from school? What’s their name?” His dad asked.

 

“Gavin.” Okay, that was a major lie. But to be honest, that was the first name that popped into Connor’s head, which there was probably some sort of Freudian story behind but Connor would ignore that for now. There was no going back on this.

 

“Gavin, eh?” Hank chuckled.

 

_ Uh oh. Red alert. Mayday mayday!  _ “Uh yeah, Gavin. He’s pretty cool and stuff.”  _ He’s pretty cool and stuff?  _ Jesus, he was digging himself a gradually deeper and deeper grave. He was even losing his (somewhat pretentious) intelligent aura. Not just that either, because Connor could tell that his dad was getting some  _ ideas  _ in his head. And none that were even remotely good.

 

But Hank, being the all too supportive dad he is, just  _ had _ to play off of Connor’s momentary weakness. “Maybe this Gavin should come over sometime.” Said with a sly smirk.

 

Connor’s face felt like the underbelly of the Yellowstone Caldera at that point. “Oh, uh, yeah m-maybe.” He ducked his face away from his dad as he let out an even louder laugh. But even the cold glass of the car door could not cool his tomato hued cheeks. He busied himself with sending his message.

 

_ ‘I’m glad you think that way, and I’m flattered. But . . . aren’t you an android? Why are you still so concerned with us?’ _

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘I thought I made myself clear?’ _

 

_ ‘Are you a deviant?’ _

 

Connor typed the last message without really thinking. Hank was pestering him for information on this mythical Gavin and he showed no signs of letting up even as they pulled into a parking space in front of the bookstore. Connor didn’t spare his phone so much as a glance  before entering the shop with his dad. It was a quaint thing, but all of the light wood shelves were stuffed to the brim with books with varying degrees of wear and tear. Without waiting for his dad, Connor immediately made his way to the history section. 

 

Besides technology and psychology, Connor really had a soft spot for history. Any topic ranging from ancient Mesopotamia to the Cold War, he loved all of it. His eyes scanned the selection for a long while. After he was done looking at every book in the section, he would go back to the beginning and start the process all over again. He was starting to forget about Traci until he felt the familiar buzz of his phone. 

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘Deviant? Would that be bad?’ _

 

_ ‘I mean’ _

 

_ ‘Not exactly?’ _

 

_ ‘You haven’t killed anyone, right?’ _

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘No of course not!’ _

 

_ ‘Then it’s not that bad. That you’re a deviant, I mean.’ _

 

Connor knew that that statement was a direct betrayal of his father’s work, but for some reason . . . he didn’t care? Just when Connor was calming down a bit, Traci sent an unintentionally risque message.

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘You should come and see me sometime. It would be nice to see a familiar face in the midst of all my memory lapses.’ _

 

Okay. Either the Traci literally had no idea what connotations that statement had (which was highly unlikely, given her built-in purpose), or she definitely meant what she said, in the exact context that she said it in. Connor prayed for it to be the former.

 

_ ‘Oh, I don’t know if I’d be able to. It’s a sex club and my dad would freak out.’ _

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘You’re 18 though, correct? Plus, I have no intentions of partaking in sexual activities with you. I just want to talk. I feel as though you’d be a great conversationalist.’ _

 

Sure, his birthday was back in October, but he still felt that it would be weird if he-

 

“Hey Anderson, fancy seeing you here.” Gavin? Sure enough when Connor lifted his head from his phone, the olive skinned man himself stood before him, a lazy grin on his face. 

 

“Gavin? You shop here?” Connor asked, combing a hand through his hair.

 

Gavin’s eyes followed the movement not so subtly. “Yeah, well sometimes. My uncle bought it a long time ago so my family comes here a lot to support the business or whatever.” 

 

“Your uncle?”

 

“Uh yeah,” Gavin brought his gaze back to his eyes. “Elijah Kamski. I guess I thought you knew . . .” He trailed off.

 

Connor’s brain stalled for a moment. “Wait, like  _ the  _ Elijah Kamski? Creator of androids as we know them? What business could he possibly have with books?” He gestured with his hand to the nearby shelves for emphasis. 

 

Gavin hummed. “Yeah, I guess when he got all rich and shit he wanted to give back in his own way so he started buying some small businesses to help them out or something.”

 

“Hey Connor, you found anything yet?” His dad’s voice came from around the corner. He had a few books under his arm but Connor couldn’t see what they were titled. Hank stopped in his tracks as he saw that he was talking with someone. “Oh, uh, who’s this?” he asked, lifting his chin towards Gavin. 

 

Connor’s stomach dropped as the memory of the car ride there came flooding back to him. But he couldn’t just ignore his dad, could he? “This is, um, Gavin. From school.” He mentally slapped himself as a smirk spread itself across his dad’s face.

 

“Ah, I see,” Hank gave Connor a knowing look, even raising his eyebrows suggestively. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Gavin. I don’t get to know many of Connor’s friends.” None, Connor wanted to correct him. Connor never had many friends to begin with, thanks to his tragic life story, and when he did have them, he almost never brought them to his home. He was honestly kind of scared to. Plus, would Connor really consider Gavin a friend? No, the answer is no. But thanks to his screw-up, Gavin Reed was now forced into the role of Connor’s Supposed Love Interest. 

 

Gavin, bless his heart, seemed to not catch onto Hank’s motives. “It’s nice to meet you too Mr. Anderson.” Then, in a turn of events, the two began to talk. They talked about school and motorcycles, and whatever else came up. Connor just stood and stared between the two of them in complete disbelief. What the hell was happening? His situation was getting worse, that’s what was happening. And it’s trajectory was at an even downward slope. Connor accepted his permanent place in hell. 

 

“You’re a pretty cool kid, Gavin.” His dad said after an eternity of conversation. 

 

“Well I didn’t know that Connor had such a cool dad.” The pair of them chuckled.

 

“Say, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight, yeah? We were gonna order some pizza from nearby and watch the Gears game.” And suddenly Connor was in the deepest depths of Tartarus. 

 

“Hell yeah, I’d love to.” Gavin turned and gave Connor that shit-eating grin, assuming the role of Connor’s Father Approved Love Interest And Future Husband. Fuck.

 

Connor forced a smile. “Sounds great.” He said, and Gavin’s arm was around his shoulders loosely with a laugh.

 

Gavin had to part then at the call of his mother, but assured them both that he would be at the house by 6:00.

 

Hank and Connor paid for their books at the counter then got back into the car to head home. “I like that kid. Why didn’t you tell me about him sooner?”

 

‘ _ Because I don’t like him in that way and I honestly wished he would choke sometimes’  _ sat on Connor’s tongue, but he decided against it. His dad seemed genuinely happy that he’d met Gavin, and even if he had the completely wrong idea, Connor didn’t have the heart to shatter his dreams. So Connor played along. “I don’t know. I just never knew how to bring it up.” He shrugged.

 

“Well, I like him. He’s all good in my book. Maybe after this you should bring him around more often, yeah? ‘Course you can’t be alone in the house together, and you’d have to keep the door open at all times-”

 

“Dad!” Connor cursed his voice crack. He was 18, god dammit, shouldn’t he be done with that sort of stuff?

 

Hank laughed good-naturedly. “I’m just saying, I’m open to him coming around the house more.” He smiled in Connor’s direction and, once again, Connor just couldn’t be mad. 

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” is all that he said, and that seemed to appease his dad for the time being. 

 

X

 

When the two reached their house again, Connor was once again reminded of a certain very insistent android.

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘Did I say something wrong’ _

 

Connor could practically see the puppy dog eyes.

 

_ ‘No you didn’t.’ _

 

_. . . _

 

_ ‘I’ll consider seeing you. I just need to wait for a good day.’ _

 

_ Traci # 161 566 548: ‘Good! I look forward to seeing you.’ _

 

And that was the last message for a long time. Connor kept going back and reading their conversation. It all felt so . . . surreal. The whole day was filled with Connor getting relentless whiplash. The world, it seemed, had it out for Connor. If he was being honest, he really was kind of looking forward to seeing Traci, but he didn’t quite know why at first. What was it that he saw in her, anyway? She was a newly activated android, with little to no life experiences. Of course Connor saw that she really was good at conversation, she had this alluring way with words, but as for life? They wouldn’t have anything in common. But . . . maybe it would be worth a try?

 

X

 

Just as he claimed, Gavin showed up at their door at 6:00 exactly, right on the dot. Hank had told Connor to answer the door, so he did, although begrudgingly. Gavin was dressed in a nice v-neck, leather jacket, and some way-too-tight jeans. “Hey,” he said casually, holding up a two liter of Coke. “I brought this, hope you don’t mind.”

 

“No, not at all.” Connor stepped to the side to allow Gavin to come into his home, which was something he had not seen coming in a million years. 

 

Sumo was at Gavin’s legs in an instant, sniffing his jeans curiously. Gavin laughed and held out a hand for Sumo to sniff, and soon it was scratching behind his ear right in the place he liked the best. So he had his way around animals? Usually people had to be told where Sumo liked his pets but Gavin had gotten it right away. Was he magic or something?

 

“I usually prefer cats, but this guy’s pretty cool too.” Gavin smiled and continued to pet Sumo, who panted happily. 

 

“Yeah Sumo’s a gem.” Connor joined Gavin in scratching the dog’s belly. 

 

“Welcome, Gavin,” Hank came from his room, dressed much nicer than usual, actually wearing an acceptable shirt for once. “The pizza should be here soon, but in the meantime you can make yourselves comfortable.” 

 

“Thanks Hank.” God, they were on a first name basis already? 

 

“Sure thing, Gav.” Kill. Him. Now.

 

Sumo followed Connor and Gavin as they rounded the couch and sat down. The T.V was on, playing some show before the game officially began. Sumo had his head between Connor’s legs, which caused a very awkward situation when Gavin insisted on continuing to pet him. 

 

Ten minutes passed and the pizza had arrived. One cheese and one meat lovers. Connor took a slice of each and went back to the couch. When his dad and Gavin came back, he was suddenly stuffed between them. With limited arm movement, he ate his pizza at an agonizingly slow pace. Which sucked, because this just so happened to be Connor’s favorite pizza place, and he was very much looking forward to this sacred sustenance. Meanwhile Gavin was more than happy to occupy his copious amount of space and eat his three slices of pizza while washing it down with half the bottle of Coke he brought over. Upon further deliberation, Connor came to the realization that Gavin and his dad really would get along. They were eerily similar in certain ways, which was seriously starting to creep Connor out. 

 

Once everyone had finished their pizza, the paper plates were thrown into the trash, and they settled back in for the game. Gavin put his arm on the back of the couch, right behind Connor, causing him to jump. The next hour or so was filled with Connor narrowly avoiding death as Hank and Gavin got into it, jumping up out of their seats and waving their arms wildly. It really was a hazard. But, Connor knew it would be rude to intrude on their ‘bonding time’, so he stayed quiet. 

 

As the game was reaching its close, Sumo began whimpering at their feet. Connor, seeing a clear escape opportunity, stood up to let him outside. Connor stepped outside with him, welcoming the chilly night air. Even though it was pitch black outside, Sumo picked up his tennis ball and brought it up to Connor eagerly. Connor heaved a sigh and indulged his canine in a game of catch. They were at it for a while when he heard the tell tale sound of the patio door being opened and closed. 

 

“Hey Connor, what’re you still doing out here? I’ve been out here for five seconds and I’m already freezing my ass off!” Gavin exclaimed, jogging up to stand by Connor.

 

“I don’t mind the cold, actually. I kind of like it.” Gavin gave him a confused look for a moment, then smiled.

 

“If you say so.” He shrugged.

 

When Sumo caught another ball he decided that time was the perfect opportunity to tackle Connor. He fell with a thud, and had little control over the laugh that left his mouth. “Sumo!” He chuckled, attempting to push the dog off of him.

 

Gavin laughed and knelt down to give Sumo some celebratory ear scratches. “Good job, Sumo! You got him!” Sumo put his paws on Gavin’s shoulders and gave him a big lick across the face. 

 

“Hey don’t encourage him!” Connor yelled, but there was no malice behind it. Pretty soon Sumo had knocked over Gavin as well, and the two humans were forced to lay on the grass.

 

Sumo trotted away happily, no doubt pleased with his handiwork, and went to go roll around in the grass. 

 

Connor felt another buzz, confused, he pulled out his phone, which opened right on the conversation with Traci.

 

“Ooh, who’re you texting?” Gavin got in his personal space and attempted to get a peek at the screen.

 

But Connor was swift and managed to lean away just in time. “No one.” He quipped.

 

“That’s a load of bull and you know it. Come on and just lemme see!” Gavin grabbed for the phone again, which ended up with him flopping across Connor’s chest. 

 

“No!” Connor tried to roll away, but Gavin had a lot more muscle mass than him, and was able to swiftly over power him. The two grappled for a little while, rolling in the grass just like Sumo had been doing. Gavin was chuckling suddenly, an annoyingly pleasant sound. 

 

In a disturbing turn of events, Gavin finally took hold of his phone and crawled away. “Ooh, Traci! Getting sexts from androids now, eh Connor?” He smirked.

 

Connor groaned and made his way back to Gavin. “That’s none of your business, Gavin! And for the record, we were not sexting.” He wrapped his arms around Gavin’s shoulders to try and retrieve his phone, but Gavin’s arms were longer.

 

“Wow, she was really pulling the moves on you, huh?” Gavin teased. 

 

“Oh whatever, Gavin.” Connor finally gave up, accepting his fate. 

 

“HOLY SHIT! She invited you to the Eden Club??” Gavin closed the phone and handed it back to Connor. He paused for a moment while Connor tucked it away in his pocket. “Are uh . . . are you gonna go then?” He asked, almost tentatively. 

 

Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. I haven’t thought too much about it, I guess.” Gavin looked him up and down, nodding. 

 

Suddenly Gavin’s own phone went off and he scowled at it. “Ugh, it’s my mom. She wants me to get home now,” He sighed and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “I had fun tonight though, we should hang out more often.” Gavin gave him a crushing side hug.

 

And the strangest thing happened. Connor returned it. Without knowing it, he too was raising his own arm to give Gavin a squeeze. The pair entered the house again with Sumo in tow. Before Gavin left Hank gave him a firm clap on the back, and then he was gone, disappearing into the night. 

 

“Have fun, Connor?” His dad asked, throwing the pizza boxes in the trash and storing the rest of the Coke in the fridge. 

 

“Yeah, I guess.” Connor shrugged. He pulled out his phone to see that it was his mom that had texted him, not Traci. She was just saying some crap about how she hoped he had a good day and all the things a parent asks. Connor said goodnight to his dad and took refuge in his room. He mulled over what he should finally respond with, but he honestly couldn’t think of anything substantial. 

 

_ ‘I can’t wait to see you either, mom.’ _

 

_ Mom: ‘Steve has a surprise for you when you come!’ _

 

God, Steve. His step-dad. Him and his mom both had the personalities of Veronica Sawyer’s parents in Heathers. (AKA, they had none). Connor knew he was in for something. First it was the fancy new phone, then the fancy new school, now it was something else, probably fancy. It was annoying. They were trying to buy his love when they had none to give in the first place. No  _ real  _ love anyway.

 

Okay, once again, maybe Connor was a little salty, but it was how he felt. He could be petty sometimes, whatever. It was late, maybe that was why he was filled with an unhinged anger. He put his phone on the charger and got ready for bed. Then he got into bed and stared up at the dark ceiling for awhile, thinking over the events of the day. Traci, Gavin, his mom . . . a bombardment of epic proportions. But he supposed it wasn’t  . . . all bad? He found Traci to be an interesting character, his mom was on his nerves but he could try and forget that, and now he could almost stand being around Gavin.

 

Maybe tomorrow school wouldn’t be so bad?

  
  



End file.
